Callie Woods
by DoriIsMyName
Summary: NO MENTION OF KATNISS NOR PEETA. IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, DON'T READ. Callie Jones was just a normal waterbender trying to get by in District 12, well, as normal as she could get. She never asked to be picked for the 74th Hunger Games. She never asked to leave her family behind, never to return again... And she certainly never asked for her best friend to be chosen alongside her.
1. The Reaping

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys! Just before you read this, lemme explain a few things. This is my first fanfic, so if it's poorly written don't blame me, I'm new at this. As for the explanations of certain things (*cough*, Avatar, *cough*), not much is explained because Callie doesn't know much about him/her, okay? Thanks for checking this out!**

**Oh yeah, Disclaimer, I don't own the Hunger Games or Avatar The Last Airbender, just the plotline (barely) and the OCs, like Callie and James and Henna and all them mob. **

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I wake up when the sun isn't even up yet, I just lay there, staring up at the ceiling. I don't really know why I'm up this early, especially on a free day like today. It may be because of the dread quickly forming in my pit of my stomach or may just be from habit. My brother and sisters, Pan, who is six, Keiley and Kayden, who are both twins at eleven years old, are snuggled up in front of me fast asleep. I listen to their steady breathing. I can't help but envy the little tykes. They wouldn't be up anytime soon. Even on a day like this, they could sleep like the dead.

I carefully sneak out from the bed and with practiced skill dress in the dark. I usually have too. I wake up this earlier, if not earlier, every day, either to practice my waterbending or to work. Yes, I am a waterbender, rare in this world, let alone this District. Once, long ago, benders were common in this world. Now, I can honestly say I'm pretty sure that I am the only waterbender in this town. Waterbending is an ancient art, going back thousands of years. Waterbenders are people who can manipulate water to their will, controlling it, bending it. I've known I was a waterbender since I was young, when I was playing in the bath. I was pushing the water back and forth, like I heard something called 'tides' do on shorelines, mimicking the movement explained. My mama had found me sitting still in the bath, pushing water with my hand. Mama had told me to hide them, and I had. As a result, things were harder for me, but I survived.

I shake my thoughts out of my head as I slide into my soft leather boots and lace them up, liking the comfortable feel of them. My best friend, James Williams, had given them to me a few years ago, when we were sure that I would never grow again (sigh). His father was the Mayor of District 12, the district we live in, so he could afford those types of things. Still, I consider myself unbelievably lucky that I have the wonderful boots. They were of the finest quality that we could get in this district, even if they were from the Hub. I've had them for two years now. They were a little worn and torn, but they were still sturdy. They had long ago molded to my feet, making them perfect. I barely got blisters from them like most people around here. Getting decent shoes was near impossible in this district. I rip my attention away from my boots and reach for the comb and quickly comb out my hair. I don't bother putting it up. I'd be back by nine for a bath. I could properly get ready for the day then. I kiss Pan's head, my hair brushing his face. I see him shift in his sleep and quickly kiss Keiley and Kayden and then hurry over to my parents, kissing both their foreheads before heading out into the early morning air.

I live in District 12, the coal mining district. We supply the Capitol with coal. I've worked out in the mines ever since I'd started school, although most don't start until their late teens. I'd begged and begged until I got the job. That was the first day I met James, too. I've always been small for my age, so I got to hand out the water, crawling through the mines with water bottles strapped to my back. I was one of the only people small enough to carry water and maneuver my way through the mines. James had assisted me with that. We had hit it off and now, twelve years later, we were still best friends, even though I'm from the poorest part of the district, the Seam, and he's from the richest family in the district. James has helped me out with my waterbending, too. He was a firebender. Yeah, I know, weird that I, a waterbender, was best friends with a firebender, my polar opposite. But we were. We had secretly trained together when we had discovered our abilities, researching when we could and helping each other out, even dueling with each other.

Benders aren't allowed to practice their bending. It's considered an offence to the Capitol, learning to defend ourselves. See, the districts revolted against the Capitol 74 years ago, benders being a big part of it. As punishment, they banned benders from bending and captured our Avatar, a bender who can master all four elements (water, earth, fire and air), and is connected with the spirits and altogether brings peace to us. The Capitol made it impossible for them too. You'd think that they'd just kill the Avatar, but it's not that simple. The Avatar reincarnates into the next element in the cycle. That's pretty much all I know about the Avatar. It's really hard to find information on them, the Capitol tried really hard to destroy all the information on the Avatar and it's not like they keep us updated.

I only have to walk about a mile to reach the Meadow, a somewhat rugged field that lies between the high chain link electric fence that separates District 12 from the rest of the world. It's supposed to the electrified 24/7, but here in the Seam we're lucky to get a few hours a day. I approach the fence and check to see if it's on. It's not, so I look around carefully. 100% sure that nobody was around, I duck under the fence and head out to the woods, my solace. I am often out here when I'm not working, either just walking around or climbing trees or practicing my waterbending with James. James has always said I had a weird thing for the woods. I love them, I love the scent of them, and I love the look of sunlight forcing its way through the leaves. I feel the fake happy expression fall off my face and be replaced with my legit one. Hey, just because I'm a waterbender doesn't mean I can't love trees. Besides, there isn't exactly that much water for me to play with, other than that huge lake James and I found a few years back, but by then I'd already learnt to withdraw water from the air and objects around me. I usually withdraw water from the area surrounding me, even if it means killing them. Let's just say I know I'll never die from dehydration, okay? I look around and see a fallen branch and withdraw the water from it, not looking at it as it dries out to dust, and stream it around, not really paying attention as I walk through the woods. I kind of hypnotised myself into a tranquil state, staring at nothing and thinking of nothing, absently playing with my stream of water.

James comes looking for me at around dawn. He finds me in our usual meeting place. I don't why I went there, it must have been a subconscious thing, since I know this place so well.

"How long have you been up?" he asks me as he comes up next to me. I lose my tranquil state and he startles me to the point I drop my water.

"Before dawn. I couldn't sleep," I reply absently as I draw the water out of the ground. I mist it and spraying it everywhere, admiring the way the water droplets shine on the plants. James chuckles and grabs my hand. Before you ask, no, we are _not_ dating, as much as our friends and classmates like to tease us about it. We are just really close friends, you know, being best buddies for the past twelve years, and we were really affectionate, always have been, even when we were five. We are often together or near each other or hanging out. Our friends call us cute. We call them morons, especially James. He absolutely _hates_ being called cute. Our friends knew we were like siblings, yet still they tease.

"How could you? It is reaping day, after all." Reaping day. Even the name makes me shudder. Reaping day is the day they gather all us kids aged twelve to eighteen and enter us into a draw to compete in the sickening Hunger Games, a game where the Capitol chucks a boy and a girl tribute (as they like to call us) in a specially made arena were they all fight to the death until there is one Victor, who live in the Victor's Village or whatever they call it and live richly, without lack of food or money or anything. They just have to live with the memories of the Games and of the horrible things they do. I have never personally killed somebody, but I can only imagine what that would do to somebody. It would probably kill them a little too. I know, it's just morbid all the way through. The reaping would be taking place today at around two o'clock. They try to keep the reaping about half an hour long, so they could play them all live for the Capitol. Everything is for the Capitol.

"I know, I know, it's just worse than usual. I have a really bad feeling about this year James," I tell him quietly. He wraps his arm around my shoulder and I lean against his chest.

"I do too. Did you go for tesserae this year?" James asks quietly.

"You know I did, James. I go for it every year." I reply wearily. Tesserae was something you can get if you exchange the meagre that's supposedly a year's supply of grain and oil for your name being entered in the pool of tributes an additional time. You can do this for each family member. There's also another way to get extra entrances in the pool, but that was only unique to my kind, although the Capitol didn't know I was a bender. If you are a bender, your name gets entered three times a year rather than one.

When I was twelve, I went up for five tesserae's. My name was entered only six times. When I was thirteen, I went up for six tesserae's, since Pan had been born. It was entered thirteen times. The next year my name was entered twenty times. This year, my name will be in that bowl forty one times, much higher than the average girl's entries. Next year, being my last, my name will be in forty nine times. We only have small families here in 12, with usually only one or two children. Not many young people survive in District 12, since food and medicine are so scarce. There were about eight thousand people in our district and there were probably only about 1000 benders. Yeah, it sounds like a lot, but only a quarter of them know it and only a quarter of that quarter know how to control it. Accidents happen quite easily around here. If anybody thinks you are the one responsible for it, you get taken away. To where, I dunno. To the Capitol or to some hidden prison maybe. It's not like they'll advertise that sort of stuff.

James had it easy, even for a known bender. This year his name was only entered eighteen times. He hated that I had more of a chance to get reaped than he did, since there were way more boys than girls in this district. Out of the three thousand kids, only a thousand and one hundred were girls, the rest were boys. That's only just over a third of the entrant's population that were girls, and most of them were younger, therefore increasing the chances of us older girls getting picked. James hated it. I know he would switch our chances of getting reaped in an instant. He told me once in an argument about that last fact that he'd tried to get his father to exchange them, but I think he was just saying that in the spur of the moment. No person would ever be that stupid, no offence to James.

"I just wish you didn't have to. I just wish that this whole thing didn't exist, that we were free to bend and travel and _live_," James sighs. I look around nervously, checking closely for any signs of Peacekeepers. Even out here, I was worried that we would be heard. James hadn't said it particularly loud, but sound travels out here and although he's the Mayor's son, that wouldn't stop him from getting the whipping of his life, or possibly both of us getting shot.

"Don't say those things out loud, James! Are you trying to get killed?" I hiss shrilly, my heart beat rising as I think about it. No!

"No, but-"

"Let's just change the subject. I don't fancy watching you get whipped or burnt or shot or… whatever, okay?' I whisper, almost fearfully. I can hear the pain laced into my voice. James wraps his other hand around me and hugs me to him. I grip onto him tight and we stand in our tight embrace for a while. I feel tears call down my cheek and onto his chest. I can feel the heat radiating off of him. One of the benefits of being a firebender, James is always warm, like he keeps a fire in his heart, or a sun, depending on which way you look at it. We stand in silence until we hear somebody approach and I turn to see Tennille coming towards us.

"Yo, lovebirds!" Tenille, my only female friend and the rowdiest of us all, calls softly from about four hundred metres away. Even she knows the risks of being out here. Of course it would be Tenille that would come to get us. The others were too afraid to get us.

"Yeah?" James bellows back at Tenille. Obviously he doesn't care about getting caught. I wince and cover my ears, a bit too late.

"A warning would have been nice, you know," I complain as I wrench myself from his arms and groan.

"Oh right, I'm going to yell now." James says. I roll my eyes and let him grab my hand and drag me towards Tenille.

"C'mon," Tenille calls towards us in an impatient voice, "your families' are looking for you." We headed towards Tenille we all sneak back out of the forest, occasionally stopping to gather some plants or medicines. The best thing about practically living in the forest was the fact that you learn what's edible and not. It can really safe your life. James, Tenille and I usually collected medicines for Harry's mother. I read somewhere that there used to be healers, waterbenders who can heal with their water, but that was prohibited now. We reach the edge of the forest peak out. I see two figures, probably Frank and Harry, our other close friends; wave to say that the coast is clear. We all sprint out and get through the fence in seconds. I look for Tenille and see her standing with Frank and Harry. Let me give you the rundown on Tenille, Frank and Harry.

Tenille was of a pretty low class, almost as low as mine. She lives in the Seam too. She was the only child, but not by choice. Tenille's parents had tried for years to have another child, but Mrs Kenai either miscarried or the child was born too prematurely to live. Apparently in the old days, way back before the Capitol, we all had access to care that would have kept them alive. If so, Tenille would have two little brothers. After the last child, Joshua, died prematurely, Mr and Mrs Kenai stopped trying to have kids. I have always wondered why the Kenai's wanted another child. Tenille is the most wonderful person I know. She's pretty, smart, mischievous and lively, which is a rare trait to have in this depressing world.

Frank is of pretty high class. He lives in the merchant part of town. His parents ran the butchers, so he got more money and food than the rest of us, but not much. Usually they lived on stews made of the meat scraps. Frank often got sick from bad meat, poor guy. He had two little sisters, the youngest was Pan's age and the other, Jill, was twelve. She was pretty good friends with the twins. This was her first year in the reaping. I wonder why Frank was here instead of with Jill. Jill was really close to Frank, like James is to me, so Frank not being with her for her first reaping immensely surprised me. Frank was quite handsome, with black hair and grey eyes. He wasn't bulky and muscly like most guys, but lean with wiry muscles. It's kind of weird seeing girls hunting after him. I can't think of him like that, although I do know he is handsome.

Harry is handsome too. His mother is as close to a doctor we can get in the district, which is quite stupid since we work with pickaxes and sickness and death on a daily basis. There have been too many incidents to count since I've worked in the mines. Harry's mother was always busy. It was just the two of them. Harry's father had disappeared when he was only a little boy. We still don't know exactly why Harry's father disappeared, but I assume it had to do with the fact that Harry's father used to venture out past the fence, like we do. It wasn't exactly a secret. Still, I felt sorry for Harry in that respect. We don't talk about it often, Harry's still sensitive about it. I don't remember much about Harry's dad, other than the fact that Harry is the spitting image of him. With a mop of light, curly hair and bright blue eyes, he looks like a golden child. His skin is bronzed from the sun, not darkened like mine. He is different from the rest of us, especially us Seam kids, who all have the same look. Dark hair, grey eyes, olive skin. There are a few of us who have different colour eyes, like James's amber eyes and my bright green eyes. Usually people with bright eyes are benders, like I am, but there were rare cases like my mother, who was a non-bender.

I look at the three of them, at the mischief in their eyes, and glance at James, who is giving them all a look as skeptical as I imagined mine was.

"Our parent's aren't looking for us, are they?" I ask.

"Nope! Wanna have a race?" Tenille asks excitedly. I roll my eyes at her. When we were younger, we used to race along the fence that encases District 12, trying to see if we could do a whole lap. I look at the position and realise that it is nearing eight o'clock. I have just over an hour to get home.

"Yeah, but quickly-" I go to continue, but Harry cuts me off with a laugh.

That's the point!" He chuckles, then runs off, Fred and Tenille right on his tail. James and I are immediately chasing after them. We all fly along the fence, laughing and teasing each other. It feels like the good old days, when the reaping and food and the Games weren't heavy on our minds, when we were just carefree little kids. I force any remaining thoughts and worries from my head and the dread from my stomach and push myself to the point where I feel like I'm flying. James keeps up with me easily, since he's almost a foot taller than me and has annoyingly long legs. We run for an hour and a half, although we all keep in the same area as a silent mutual agreement, till the point where I'm exhausted and my legs are killing me and I know I'm late. I see the other guys and jog over to them, panting.

"Callie, we're parched." Fred moans. I look around, again checking for anybody, and pull water from the air. It takes a few minutes but I finally have enough to give everybody a decent amount. I spilt my ball of water into five and we take a quick drink. Yeah, I know I'm advanced in my waterbending compared to the others that I see in the Games. They can barely stream it. There have been many waterbenders in the Games, but none of them can do what I can. I guess that living in an environment where there wasn't a steady supply of water can make a girl desperate to learn, well, learn.

"I have to go, my family will be worried." I tell them, panting. Tenille whines and grabs my hand, pulling me closer to her.

"Come on, stay with us!" she pleads.

"I have to go prepare for the reaping," I sigh. Tenille claps her hand over her mouth.

"Shit, we have to go!" she moans.

"Girls, you all take forever," James jokes. I glare at him and he holds his hands up in defense.

"Kidding, kidding!" He protests.

"Damn straight you are! And remember guys..." Tenille trails off dramatically, making me roll my eyes, "may the odds be _ever_ in your favour!" she cries, mimicking the Capitol accent. We all groan but I link my arm with hers as we hurry off to our homes. I regret running as hard as I did. My legs were now simultaneously burning and felt like jelly. We reach the street where we part and give each other a quick hug.

"See you in the courtyard," Tenille says mournfully. I pull back and stare at her, taking in her red face, her black hair, her dark grey eyes and hug her again.

"I'll be the one in the pretty dress." I tell her. It's a joke that been going on since the first reaping. Tenille pulls away and gives me a sad look before turning away off towards her home.

"Uh-huh, sure," She calls over her shoulder jokingly, but I can hear the sadness in her voice. I know why she's sad. She thinks that my name is in the draw about a dozen more times than it actually is. I'm glad it's not, but still, I have a high amount of entries compared to the rest of the population. I turn towards mine, my legs still jelly-like. I finally see my house and enter to see the living room empty.

"Mama, papa? Keiley? Kaide?" I call out, looking around. They possibly couldn't be asleep, since I could smell lunch cooking.

"Callie!" Keiley cries out. I look towards the bedroom to see Keiley quickly approaching me, dressed in good clothes. She throws herself at me and I wordlessly hug her back and then I head towards the bedroom, where mama and papa stand, looking beside themselves with worry.

"Callie, where have you been?" mama demands. I let go of Kailey's hand and pull mama in for a hug.

"I'm sorry mama, I was out with James, Tenille, Harry and Frank and we forgot the time." I reply. She chuckles slightly and waves her hand teasingly over her nose. I know what she means. I'm sweaty and stinky, although mama doesn't really care about that. She knows I was only trying to forget, to let myself be at peace for a few moments.

"At least you're home and safe. The boys are in the tub now, you can get in after them." papa sighs.

"You, missy, are to wash your hair." mama says with a grin. I roll my eyes at her but kiss her cheek and turn to Keiley.

"Do you want me to do your hair?" I asked her. She gives me a confused look.

"But I don't have to get all dressed up like you do." Keiley replies.

"I just want to play with it while the boys are in the tub," I tell her. She gives an excited squeal and grabs the brush and sits down by our bed. She loves her hair being played with, absolutely loves it. Her hair was lighter than all of ours, more of a light brown or dark blonde, and her skin was paler than ours. Even though she and Kayden were twins, they didn't look it. Her hair was long and straight, while our hair was either curly or wavy. Papa says that Keiley takes after his mother. I never met her, she died when mama was pregnant with me. By the time the boys are done in the bath, I have somehow managed to do some intricate braid-knot thing in Keiley hair. She feels it and gasps. I have really outdone myself this time.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She chants excitedly. I laugh at her and kiss her temple. She is such a little girly girl, it's cute.

"You're back!" Kayden exclaims excitedly, and runs in to hug me, only in his underwear. I hug him back and he sniffs and pulls away.

"You were out running, weren't you?" Kayden asks.

"Yeah, I'm beat." I tell him. He giggles and plugs his nose.

"You smell it. Go have a bath, stinky," he teases. I ruffle his hair and head for the bathroom.

"Okay, fine!" I call over my shoulder, chuckling. I know what you're thinking. We're awfully upbeat and carefree for a family in the Seam. I guess we all try to ignore the bad things and focus on the good. It's better than being mopey all the time. I quickly have a bath, using my waterbending to stream water over me to wash soap from my body and hair faster. I wish I was a firebender too, then I could heat the water up like James does sometimes. I finally got out of the tub and stared at my naked body in the full length mirror that mama had inherited. I have been told that I am pretty by people, like mama and papa and Keiley and Tenille, but I think I look normal. I have hair that is dark brown and curls around my head like a mane when it's dry. My skin is a darker shade of olive compared to the other girls my age and is darker on my arms, face and neck from my many days out in the woods. I'm small for my age, but I am well-muscled from working with the pickaxes in the mines and from doing James's training exercises with him, with a flat stomach (with a few ribs slightly showing, but a flat stomach nonetheless), a slightly broad chest and muscly arms, well, muscly for a girl. I have a plain face, with few marks on it, with a straight nose, lips that weren't too thin but too thick, big green eyes, dark lashes and high cheekbones. My eyes are my favourite. They are like sunlight streaming through the tree tops. I turn away from my body and dress in the clothes mama left out for me, a white button-down shirt paired with a navy blue skirt. I quickly slipped them on and tucked the shirt into the skirt. I grab the comb and comb my hair then put it up in a neat ponytail. I don't want my hair in a fancy braid or whatever that I had put in Keiley's hair. I want it like I usually have it. I nod at myself in the mirror and step out of the bathroom.

"Callie!" Pan yells. He's standing right by the door, like he's been waiting by the door as I bathed and dress. Hell, he probably had. I pick him up and head to the small living/kitchen/dining area, where mama sits with Keiley. Mama stands and looks disapprovingly at my hair, but I reach up and push her fingers away from it as she reaches for it.

"Mama!" I protest playfully. She smiles and I kiss her cheek.

"Callie, you look beautiful," papa says as he emerges from the bedroom, Kayden right behind him. I roll my eyes at him but allow him to kiss my forehead.

"You say that every day, papa. I doubt today makes a difference," I tell him. Pan giggles like I made a hilarious joke, snorting and everything. I can't help but crack up laughing and my whole family is too. Pan has that effect on us. I grin at my chuckling family. As much as I try to protect them from the bitter reality of the Games, especially Keiley, Kayden and Pan, they know that I could be going away for good today. I suddenly grip Pan tighter and, as if sensing my change in mood, everyone stops laughing and I sit down on the floor. Pan moves so he is in my lap and Kayden and Kailey snuggle into my sides, but eventually I have to get up to help mama with lunch. Pan clings to me as Keiley and I help mama make a quick lunch of bread and tea along with the broth mama made this morning. We're running low on food, I guess I'll have to make a trip down to the Hub tomorrow.

Like every district, we have our black market. We call it the Hub. It is an old bunch of warehouses that used to store coal that we now use as a base for our black market. All the coal goes to the train station about half an hour out of the populated part of the district nowadays. Usually things like food and alcohol and medicines and even, rarely, information on bending, is sold there. I usually sell all the food I collect there. I also know how to throw a dagger and an axe from this. Let's just say I have a friendly bet with one of the stall owners. James generally doesn't like my visits down to the Hub, but a girl's got to do what a girl's go to do to survive in this life.

We serve lunch and sit around the table and eat in silence. My siblings cling to me as much as they can, even Kayden, who is usually okay today. He just spends the next two weeks clinging to me, as if to make sure I was actually here, but the day of the reaping he is usually okay, relaxed even. With the other two, it was the opposite. They clung to me about a fortnight before the reaping, as if to make sure I stay. It's the cruelest month of my life. Lunch is quick and deadly silent. Pan still clings to me as I get up to help mama with the dishes. Mama looks at him with pity and I cannot help but want to cry. He is hysterical this year around. I think it's because he realised exactly how many times my name was entered and that only a third of the entrants were female. I look at Kayden and Keiley and notice they look just as hysterical as Pan, so I pull them both to me and hug them tight. A tear slips down Keiley's cheek and I wipe it away.

"Relax, it'll all be fine," I tell them, but the dread deep in my gut is telling me otherwise. I pull away and turn to face mama, who has a pained look in her face.

"It's time to go," she says quietly. It's almost one o'clock now. I nod and we all quietly head towards the town centre, Pan clinging to me and each of my hands wrapped in Keiley's and Kayden's. We have to head towards the courtyard in the town centre, where the reaping would be played live for all of Panem to see. As we approach sign in, Kayden and Keiley drop my hands and I have to grab Pan and try untangling him off me, but the little tyke is like glue.

"No!" he cries.

"I have to go, Pan, stay with mama and papa," I tell him.

"No!" he cries again. I finally get him off me and hand him to mama and kiss his forehead.

"I have to go, Pan. You stay with mama and papa and I'll see you after the reaping, okay?" I ask gently, looking down into his eyes. He threw his arms around my neck and just as I was preparing for another tugging match, he let go.

"Okay," he says, then leans into mama. I roll my eyes at him and turn to the twins. I hug them both and kiss their heads and go into the line for seventeen year olds. The sign in is a good way to keep track of both population of non-benders and benders among the districts. We are registered then herded into our age groups, eldest up the front, youngest up the back, boys on the left, girls on the right. The rest of the population crowd around the edges, family members clinging to each other in hopeful despair, the ones who no longer care betting on the tributes, going by age, if they cry, if they try to run or if they are a miner or not, the latter being mainly a boys bet. Not many deal with the betters though. It is too easy to be reported. I see Tenille standing among the seventeen year old girls and stand beside her.

"Don't you look dashing?" I say lightly. There's really only two ways to go about dealing with the reaping, be light and joking or dead and despaired. We discovered a while ago that it was easier to focus on the light, fluffy stuff like dresses.

"Do you think? I wasn't sure if the blue brought out my eyes or not," Tenille jokes back, propping her chin on her hand and tapping it thoughtfully. I roll my eyes at her but silently agree. Tenille wore a slightly tatty dark dress that makes her eyes seem lighter.

"You're outfit really does bring out your awesome complexion, I must say," Tenille continued on, making us giggle. The giggles were slightly too hysterical to be just from the ridiculous jokes. See, even trying to be light about it, the reaping still affects us. A few of the other girls stare at us like we are lunatics or are daft and stupid, to be able to joke around like this. We continue to joke around at two o'clock draws nearer, but the jokes become feeble as the reaping draws nearer. We grip each other's hands tightly as Mayor Williams, James's dad and Henna Indigo, our crazy Capitol host/presenter chick walk up onto the stage and fill two of the three chairs on stage.

Mayor Williams steps up to the podium as soon as the clock strikes twelve and begins the reading he does every year. It's the history of Panam, the history of the country that rose from its ashes and all that yada. He lists the disasters, the storms, the droughts, the fires, the encroaching waters that swallowed up the land. The wars that took place, fighting over what little sustenance remained. Panem rose after that, a shining Capitol ringed by thirteen districts, which brought them peace and prosperity. Then he speaks of the Dark Days, when the districts rose against the Capitol. This is when benders played a big part. We had a big advantage- we were fighters and we had more benders than the Capitol realised. They hadn't been keeping records of them at that point. After a long war, they conquered twelve of the districts and blew the remaining district, 13, to smithereens. It still smolders to this day. The Treaty of Treason underwent, giving us new laws to guarantee peace and prosperity, and, as our _wonderful _yearly reminder that history must not be repeated, the stupid Hunger Games. He then went on to explain the rules of the Hunger Games.

The rules were fairly simple. In punishment for the uprising, each of our districts that to sacrifice a boy and a girl, who we call tributes, to participate. They fight to the death. Only one survives. It's a cruel world, isn't it? It gets worse. The Capitol insist we treat the horrendous games like a festivity, a popular sporting event like the Olympics or Probending or that Superthing or whatever there used to be were. The district of the Victor, the last man standing, receives treats like grain and rice and even sugar while the rest of us starve. Mama told me what it was like the year Haymitch, our last Victor, won. The whole district weren't as starving as we usually were.

I squeeze Tenille's hand comfortingly and look over at the boys and search for James and the guys. They are right there, by the rope, James being closest to the rope. He will be right next to whoever becomes tribute. He is already looking at me when my eyes meet his. I give him a small smile and he smiles back.

"It is both a time for repentance and a time for thanks," Mayor Williams concludes. Nobody claps, nobody cheers, we just wait for him to continue. He continues on, reading out our past Victors. We have a total of two, but only one is alive to this day. Just as I think this, Haymitch Abernathy, the last surviving Victor, stumbles drunkenly onto the stage. Did I mention he's the town's drunkard? I see him a lot at the Hob, half drunk and demanding more alcohol. Haymitch stumbles onto the stage, barely walking, and walks over to Henna and gives her a big, slobbery kiss on the cheek. Henna, to her credit, didn't move as he did so, and when he stumbled off her onto his chair, she calmly wipes her cheek like it was a bit of water, not a drunkard's saliva. I take a moment to take in Haymitch's appearance. He's middle aged, skinny and his skin is all pale like he hasn't seen the sun in years. He has blonde hair and steely grey eyes, although I cannot see his eyes from this far away. He has stubble over his cheeks, like he hasn't shaved in a few days. The Mayor looks distressed. He knows the whole of Panem is watching. We are the joke of the districts now. With a sigh, he calls on Henna Indigo. She has these dark blue patterns drawn all over her body and on her hands. Her hair is done up as it usually is, in little intricate braids to match her patterns. She wears as little clothing as is socially acceptable in the districts, to show off her marks. She goes on and on about how much of an honour it is to be here. I hear Tenille scoff quietly and I grin. I turn towards the boys, to see Harry and Frank making faces at each other and I giggle a bit. James hears it, like the freaking bat he is, and turns towards me and screws his face up a bit, making me giggle a bit more. I feel myself loosen up a bit and I am thankful for my friends. They probably all knew how tense I was. Tenille definitely does. I was gripping her hand like a vice, but then again, she was too, still is. I wouldn't be surprised if we have bruises tomorrow, or if our hangs fall off. Now _that_ would be entertaining, not all this cock and bull from the freaky Henna chick!

"Ladies first!" she declares airily. Any loosening up I just did fades in an instant. I stiffen up and grip Tenille's hand tighter than I already was, which I seriously didn't know was possible. We both glance towards the boys, who all are looking at the pair of us, worry etched into their eyes. I meet James's eyes and see the intense worry. He is chewing the hell out of his lips. I want to reach over and slap him. I thought I had broken him of the habit!

"And the female tribute of District 12 in the 74th annual Hunger games is..." Henna begins to announce, causing the five of us to all whip our heads towards her. She reaches into the girl's bowl, which is half as full as the boys, and pulls out a slip.

I feel my stomach drop to my feet as she reads out the tribute's name.

"Callie Jones!" She declares cheerfully. If it weren't for the vices that were our hands, I would have fallen to Tenille's feet.

"No!" Tenille gasps. I hear Pan start to wail behind me and look back to see my family in front of the crowd. My papa clutches Pan tight to him as Pan squirms to get to me. Mama looks frozen in a look of devastation and the twins burst into tears as they hug each other. Tenille starts to cry on my shoulder. I both see and feel the cameras move to face us. They think Tenille is the tribute.

"Callie Jones?" Henna calls questionably. I force my hand to loosen from Tenille's and she lets out a loud sob.

"Come see me before I leave, okay? I have to get up there before the Peacekeepers kick my ass," I tell her. She smiles a little as she nods and throws her arms around me quickly. People have started backing away from us, as if I'm contaminated. As quickly as Tenille has hugged me, she releases me and the Peacekeepers come towards us. The Peacekeepers briskly push me aside and reach for Tenille.

"No, not her, I'm Callie," I tell them. They look at me momentarily and shrug. It's not like they care who I am anyway. They grab me and move me to the center of the aisle leading to the stage and march me up the stage. I can't help but leer to James's side and brush hands with him. I look at the boys with a sad smile. I look back at Tenille, and then the boys. I look at Frank and Harry first. They look like they are frozen in shock. James looks pissed and sad at the same time. Henna walks up to me and holds out her hand, as if to help me up the last stair. I ignore her hand and step up by myself, keeping my eyes to my feet. I look up to meet the eyes of Mayor Williams. His pained eyes meet my own. He knows me, he has seen me with James. He sometimes gives me food when we are running low. I see him a lot in the slums of town, giving out food. He may be Mayor of this town, therefore reinforcing the Capitol's laws, but that doesn't make him a bad guy. Somebody rams into me, sloppily throwing their arms around me, breaking our eye contact. I instantly smell the reek of alcohol and know it's Haymitch. He lets go and smirks at me.

"I like her. She's... feisty," He says, almost to himself. Smiling as if proud of his discovery, he sits down. And proceeds to barf all over the ground. I try not to wrinkle my nose at the sound… and the stench.

"Welcome to the Games, Callie," Henna says, sounding slightly miffed that I didn't accept her hand but let Haymitch hug me. It's not as if I could pull him off. For a drunkard, he's strong. She grabs my hands and kisses both my cheeks before guiding me to stand next to the big glass bowl with the girl's slips in them. The bowl that had forty one entries in it. I scowl at the bowl, blaming it. Why couldn't somebody else have been chosen? As much as I hate this situation, I take it back. Nobody deserves to be reaped. I didn't wish to bestow this fate onto anybody else. That thought causes me to tear up, but I blink them back quickly. I didn't want the whole of Panem to see my crying, especially the Capitol. I wouldn't give them the satisfaction.

"And now for the boys," Henna says brightly. She struts over to the boys sides and teasingly swishes her hand around in the bowl, trying to draw out the suspense.

"And the male tribute for the 74th Annual Hunger Games is..." She announces as she picks up the slip and opens it. Dread pools in my stomach as I closely watch her. Who will I have to potentially have to kill? I get a bad feeling when her eyes widen a bit when she reads the name before announcing it.

"James Williams!" She declares excitedly, exactly like she had with me. I had to admit, she hid her shock well. She's known James since he was a little boy, but not well. He's always at the dinners she has with the Mayor when she's here for the Tribute Tour. She's seen him grow up, although they never really talked. I stare at Mayor Williams and he looks like my family, like somebody just died. A silent tear slips down my cheek and I turn back towards the crowd to see James, his eyes boring into mine as he mounts the last of the steps.

_I should have known today was going to be hell_, I think to myself as James took his place beside me.

* * *

**I know this is a real asshole move, ending like that, but I promise more is on the way. Don't be shy to review or anything like that, even just to tell me it sucks or anything like that. The feedback would be great nevertheless! Thanks for reading!**


	2. The Train

Henna looks out at the crowd as they murmur in shock. Everybody in the district knew of our friendship. They knew we were like twins, that we spent every damned day together. I look at Tenille who is sobbing freely and I look at James, who is watching her. We both look at Harry and Frank, who have come out of shock and now look like they just lost their best friends, which they have. They have definitely lost one of us, since a maximum of one of us could return. James and I turn to look at each other and I just want to launch myself into his arms and let him hug me like this morning. James gaze darts past me to his father and he looks heartbroken. I see the Mayor pass by us and tightly grips his son's shoulders tightly as he passes. He stands at the podium, clears his throat and recites the Treaty of Treason in a dead voice. I just want to go to the Capitol and stick that stupid ass treaty up where the sun don't shine.

"Alrighty kids, shake hands," he turns to us and tells us. We step closer to one another and shake hands, not taking our gaze away from one another. We lower our hands, but don't let go as we turn to face our district. I blink back the tears that threaten to fall down my face. I know that once I let them all free, I won't stop until I'm a small, blubbering mess on the floor. The whole of Panem did not need to see that. The Panem anthem plays loudly around us. We don't break our contact as the anthem plays. When it ends, we are led into the Justice Building- our version of a Town Hall. I can hear Mayor Williams behind us as he dully concludes the reaping ceremony. As we walk, I notice we are surrounded by Peacekeepers. Probably to make sure we don't escape. They try to lead us to separate rooms, but I cling to James tightly. I honestly don't think I can stand to leave James in this moment. One Peacekeeper gives us a sympathetic look and lets us stay in the same room. The other rolls his eyes but allows us to say our goodbyes together.

Our families are the first in. Pan comes running at me and I kneel down in front of him as he rams into me, his little face a deep red colour. I hug him tightly and then see Keiley and Kayden come closer. I stand, Pan now clutching onto me like a baby monkey, and pull them in. Mama and Papa join in on the family hug and we all stay like that for a while. Each passing moment is making it harder and harder to not cry. I bask in the love my family gives me, not knowing if I'll ever feel it again. We stand there until a man walks in and tells us we have to go. Pan clings to me so tightly he is like a second growth, starting to cry again.

"Pan, you be good for mama and papa, okay?" I say weakly into his ear, my voice cracking. Pan wails and shakes his head. Mama pulls him off me and hugs me tightly to her chest, crying. She lets go and papa repeats her actions.

"Remember everything you know with your bending, okay? You cannot forget it." papa whispers in my ear. I nod and let him go to hug Keiley. She is crying hysterically and I kiss her forehead. She finally lets go and runs into papa's waiting arms and cries. _Are they trying to rip out my heart? _I think despairingly. Kayden comes up to me and hugs me tightly.

"You better come back Callie. You've kept us alive for so long, the least you can do is keep yourself alive, okay?" Kayden says determinedly, tears streaking his face. I laugh softly and kiss his forehead.

"I'll try." I tell him.

"Promise? Will you promise me?" He pleads. I sigh.

"I promise." I tell him. He nods and kisses my cheek before going and grabbing Pan from mama. I cannot help but marvel at Kayden. How is he so strong compared to the rest of my family? I have a feeling that he'll do the best he can to protect them, just like I have.

"Callie?" Mrs Williams, James's mother, approaches timidly, Mayor Williams behind her. I nod and she hugs me quickly. I knew Mrs Williams pretty well, since she didn't work. She stayed at home most of the time so she constantly pestered us when we were there, looking for gossip and whatnot, but in a nice way. She doesn't have many friends, since not many people like her. She was a Seam, like me, when she married Mayor Williams. Her friends felt like she betrayed them and the merchant women didn't want to socialise with her.

"Good luck, my dear," She whispers into my ear. I nod and I turn to Mayor Williams and nod too.

"Hurry it up!" a Peacekeeper growls. Mrs Williams turns to James and clutches him desperately. I turn to my family, but don't hug them. I won't be able to leave them if I hug them again.

"I love you!" Our cries echo through the room as we all yell desperately to each other, trying to be heard.

"Miss," the Peacekeeper growls.

'We love you too, Callie," papa says thickly in the silence that follows. Mama is now crying too much to say anything. They know this is the last time they'll see me. For their sake, I hope not. Peacekeepers come is and drag our families from the room. The last thing I hear is Kayden.

"Remember your promise!" He yells. The door slams and I sink into the soft, velvet chair and try not to cry. James sinks down beside me and leans his elbows on his knees and sinks his face into his hands. I rub his back until I hear a yell.

"CALLIE! JAMES!" James and I stand just in time for Tenille to slam into us, crying hysterically. I can't help but wonder, even at a time like this, why everybody felt the need to just so ahead and plow into me.

"Hey guys, how're you holding up?" I hear Frank ask quietly. It's a stupid question, I know, but he's trying.

"As good as we could get, I suppose," I reply sadly as I rub Tenille's back.

"This is crazy!" Harry exploded, glaring at the Peacekeeper staring at him, as if it was the Peacekeeper's fault that two of his closest friends had been reaped.

"Harry, calm down. I am not leaving you here to be whipped," I hiss at him. His face softens and he looks at me apologetically.

"Jeez Harry!" Tenille says jokingly, making me laugh. Well, not laugh really, more like go into a bout of hysterical laughter. Hey, it was better than crying. The funny thing is, James, Tenille, Frank and Harry all join in until we're all at a point where we're almost rolling on the floor. That's the type of friendship we have. We all finally calm down and sit down on the ground, shoulder to shoulder. I stare down at my fingers in my lap and Tenille is leaning on my shoulders, sniffling occasionally.

"It's funny how only this morning we were running and now..." _You two are going to die_. Frank doesn't need to finish. We all knew that not many people from Twelve won. Look at our two Victors. District 12 is at a stage where _tribute _means _corpse._

"Yeah, it sucks," James agrees.

"I second that," I add with a sigh.

"Aye, aye, aye!" Tenille, Frank and Harry cheer in over-enthusiastic voices, making me chuckle lightly.

"I'm going to miss you guys," I finally say. I feel my throat clog up. This was the first time I was openly admitting the possibility that I was going to die in the arena.

"Don't say that! "Everybody spits back angrily almost simultaneously.

"What? It doesn't change anything," I sigh, "We're still tributes and only one of us may come back. I'm just saying what I feel," I continue sadly.

"We know Callie, we just don't want to think of it yet," Harry says, looking at me with a pained expression. I reach over my knee and grab his hand and reach up to grab Tenille's and give them a gentle squeeze.

"As weird as this may sound, I want you guys to know that I love you," I continue, risking becoming a serious sap.

"Aww Callie, don't get all girly on us now!" Frank teases.

"Shut up," I grumble good naturedly.

"She _is_ a girl, stupid!" Tenille exclaimed at the same time.

"Time to go, kids," a Peacekeeper says. I think they're a bit early, but then again, I think they realised I take ages to say goodbye. Immediately we're all on our feet and hugging. Everybody's talking over one another, I'm not entirely sure who's saying what, but the message is clear. Tenille pulls me away from the boys and presses something into my hand. I look down to see her Mockingjay pin. I glance at her in shock. This is her only family valuable and she was giving it to me!

"No Tenille, you can't!" I told her.

"Mum says she wants you to have it." Tenille says. I glance down at the little pin, which is of the bird in flight. I think of the little bird. Mockingjays are like a slap in the face for the Capitol. They are the result of their mutation (a genetic alteration that we commonly know as _mutts_) - the Mockingbird- and some native birds of the country, the jabberjay. Mockingbirds were created in the midst of the rebellion. They were birds that were designed to be able to repeat complete conversation of humans. It worked well against the rebels, too, until the rebels figured out what was going on and then tricked the Capitol. The Capitol released the Mockingbirds. The Mockingbirds were only male, so to survive they bred with the female jabberjays. In result, we got Mockingjays, birds who can repeat human melodies and tones. They live in the woods. Occasionally I'll sing to them, but honestly, I just let them be. Now, I smirk at the little bird. Harry hugs me and we are pulled back into the group again. We all eventually get out of the room. It's kind of sweet but kind of annoying. The Peacekeepers come in and usher Tenille, Harry and Frank are aside and James and I are escorted to a car. I look back to see them all staring at us sadly.

James and I sit in the back as they drive us the short distance from the Justice Building to the train station. I sit uneasily in the comfortable car and James's hand sneaks over ad grabs mine. I didn't realise how nervous and scared I was until that moment. I clutch onto his hand for dear life as we drive to the station. I look down at my white knuckled grip and ease up a bit. At this rate, I'll cause his hand to fall off. I guess that's my thing today, gripping people's hands so tight they fall off.

"It's okay, Callie," James says softly, bringing me out of my head. I smile over at him as the car stops. James gets out of the car and helps me out- I am tiny and the car is quite high. The cars are higher here since Henna is a show off. Yes, she owns the cars that come down here, not the Capitol. I guess she likes to show off. James releases me and although he doesn't take my hand, he stands close behind me, following me, protecting me. I see a huge, fuzzy television, but a television nonetheless, that's airing us live. I find it creepy seeing myself in screen like that. I'm glad to see that I don't look as scared or nervous or sad as I feel, but I somehow manage to look amused (probably from our weird laughing fit) but nonchalant at the same time. James, having more practice at keeping his face expressionless than me, looks almost bored, except for the fact that he keeps glancing at me protectively. I glance back at him to see his gaze on me and slightly roll my eyes at him, making him grin. I turn around to face the front as we reach the train. We have to stand for a few minutes, to both let the cameras gobble up our images and to get Henna's cars on the train.

"It's a bit ridiculous, isn't it?" James whispers in my ear after he's fed up with the cameras, which is literally fifteen seconds later.

"What, Henna's cars or the cameras?" I ask.

"Both," James replies sourly. I can't help but smirk at him in reply.

"Maybe one of us should faint. That'll certainly create some entertainment," I suggest.

"Go ahead then," James says teasingly out of the corner of his mouth.

"Hm, let me rephrase that. James faint, I'm bored." I command is a superior voice. He laughs silently. I know I can't do the superior tone, I just look and sound small and innocent, like a kitten playing a tiger. I barely resist the urge to roll my eyes at him. You'd think that over the twelve freaking years we've known each other that he would get over it. They finally open the train doors and I have to keep myself from running in and away from the cameras.

The train is even fancier than James's house. I glance at him to see him looking around mildly, not really impressed. James hates all the Capitol fashions and stuff, so I'm not too surprised to know that he doesn't really care about the luxury furniture. A Capitol servant shows us to our chambers. Yes, I did just say chambers. In our chambers, we have a bedroom, dressing area and a bathroom with running cold _and_ hot water. We didn't even have _running_ water at home, let alone hot. We usually had to the well and get our water the trudge it halfway across the district then boil it if we wanted hot water.

"Ah Callie, I see you've found the wardrobe!" Henna sings as she enters the dressing area where I currently am now.

"I guess," I reply, not bothering to turn and face her. I open the first draw to see heaps of fine, satiny clothes folded neatly in them.

"You aren't in District 12 anymore," Henna says lightly. I turn towards the window and see we've just begun to move and haven't past the gate yet.

"Actually we are," I point out, hiding a smirk. Henna really annoys me. I don't know whether it's the attention seeking attitude she has or the fact that she thinks everything has to go her way. Her face contorts slightly. I guess she doesn't like being reprehended. She stiffly tells me that I can do anything I want, wear anything I want, that everything is at our disposal. I say thank you quietly and Henna sense the dismissal.

"Supper is at six," She says curtly in her chirper Capitol accent and struts angrily from the room. I stifle the laugh that threatens to come spurting from my mouth. I move out of the room, not bothering to change, and go straight to my bedroom. I sit by the big, open window and stare at the land passing me by. James comes in a while after that. I look at him to see his face is splotchy and his eyes are bloodshot. I don't say a thing as he sits down behind me. He pulls me against his chest and hugs me tightly, seeking comfort in me. We sit like that, wordlessly watching the world go past. I lean my head against James's shoulder and his head falls onto mine. It seems like only minutes have past, instead of hours, when Henna comes and collects us for supper.

"Callie darling, have you seen- oh! There you are James! Come, come, supper's ready!" She says cheerfully. I roll my eyes after her and get up and hold my hands out to James in a silent gesture to help him up. He seems better, calmer, but he just looks at my hand that I offer to him. He goes to say something but my stomach's loud grumbling noise interrupts what he was going to say. He gets up and we head for the dining cart, still laughing.

"Here are our two darling tributes!" Henna exclaims excitedly. I look around the room for any sign of Haymitch as James and I sit down. No sign of Haymitch.

"Where's Haymitch?" James asks.

"Resting," Henna says haughtily. I guess that not all is forgiven. I grin at James and he rolls his eyes in return. We all sit in an uncomfortable silence as supper begins. It comes in courses. A thick, orange soups that I can only guess to be pumpkin or some other orange vegetable, a green salad, lamb shops, cheese and fruits, a rich chocolate cake. Henna keeps telling us, well, scolding us really, not to eat too much, that there was another course coming. Honestly, it never seemed to end. I stuffed myself as much as I could. I know from experience that I perform better when the food's been good, either in the mines or in the woods.

About halfway through the meal, Henna opened her annoying mouth.

"At least you two have table manners. The last two ate like barbarians. It completely upset my digestion." Henna says. I give her a deadly glare. I knew how to use a knife and fork since James taught me when I was younger. He always used to tease me about it so I learnt. The last two tributes were from the Seam and were only young- twelve and fourteen. They had never seen a full plate of food before. I don't touch my knife and fork after that. Henna's lips curled up and James grins at me and follows my lead, dropping his knife and fork loudly on the table and reaching for a lamb chop with his hands and savagely rips into me. I grin at him and Henna frowns at him. I know she's seem him act more civil than this when he was two.

When the meal finished, I instantly regretted stuffing my face with all that rich food because now I'm struggling to keep it down. I look at James and see he's doing the same. I guess I really shouldn't have had that chocolate cake. I'd only eaten half a slice before it'd gotten to be too much, but now I know that if I hadn't had that cake, I wouldn't be feeling half as queasy as I do now.

"Let's go see the other tributes, shall we?" Henna suggests cheerfully as we finish. The others stand and the three us go into another compartment where a huge TV is set up, with couches facing them. They play recaps of the reapings in the evenings for the benefit of the other districts, since we can't watch them all live. Well, District 1 can if they hurry, since they are the first up, but the others still have to sign in and stuff, plus they are bigger Districts so they take longer to sign in and get sorted than we do, and we take half an hour to an hour.

I sit down on one of the loveseats and draw my knees up to my chest, trying to make myself feel less queasy. Whenever we had bad foot and got sick, I found it felt better to curl up than stretch out. James hands me a cup of water as he sits down beside me. I smile up at him as he sits, grateful. He knew I would feel better after some water. I lean my head against his shoulder as the TV turns on. I see Haymitch and Henna glance at us curiously, but I ignore them and keep my attention completely to the TV screen.

One by one the reapings play through. They play the recapping of the history of Panem only once. We hear the Capitol reaper (as Harry had dubbed them) give their speech on how wonderful it is to be in the District and then the reaping begins. We all sit in a serious silence as James and I watch our competitors be chosen. There are very many volunteers this year. Volunteers are people who volunteer in place of the reaped tribute. This is common on districts like 1, 2 and 4, which we call the Career tributes. They are the districts in which kids actually _train_ for the Hunger Games, where winning is and actual honour. All the same, facing stick out in my mind. A scary looking guy from District 2 leaping to volunteer, a girl much resembling a fox from District 5, a boy with a crippled foot from District 10, a small, twelve year old girl from District 11 and a massive bulk of a boy, also from 11. Even as the boy is reaped, my gaze is on the little girl. That could be Keiley, Kayden, Pan, or even Jill, next year, and they'll be nothing I can do about it. As if sensing my troubled thoughts, James's hand drops to my shoulders and rubs them comfortingly.

Then we're up. I watch our reaping, paying attention to the commenters, seeing what they got from all this. I watch as the cameras draw attention to Tenille and I, thinking it was Tenille since she started to cry. But I don't miss my heartbroken expression as I look back to my family. After the brief establishment that I was actually Callie, I am marched up into the stage and the commenters comment on my hair. _My hair!_ As if they couldn't think of anything better to say! I can't help but snort as I think about what mama would be thinking as she watched this. The commenters start debating the style of my ponytail until they see me veer slightly and brush fingers with James. They make little adoring groaning sounds and I take a drink from my cup, hiding my blush. It was one thing for our classmates to joke about it, but for the commenters to so bluntly put it in front of Panem? I pull the cup away and look at the screen again. I can't help but grunt in annoyance as they draw out every little action between James and me, trying to make it look like some huge drama. James keeps silently chuckling at my annoyed sounds. He chuckles loudly at the comments they make as I scowl at the bowl, calling me a little cute, feisty girl, and I reach up and slap his head.

"Wait until it's your turn!" I hiss. But somebody else gets commented on before James is drawn up. Haymitch is throwing up on the floor and the commenters are guffawing, saying stuff like 'good old Haymitch!' and stuff like that. Henna gives off a little 'harrumph!' making me snap my head towards her. I had forgotten they were in the room with us. Henna calls out James's names and I turn my attention towards the screen, waiting for the commenters to comment as James steps forward. Of course, they don't disappoint. They wail and carry on, going on and on about luck and all that crap. I can't help but agree with them, it was really unfair and unlucky. Well, I agreed with then up until they called us cute. I purse my lips and them and James stiffens. Although I feel offended, I laugh at him. The commenters make that weird noise again when we keep out hands clasped together after we shake hands, then we disappear.

"You all really have a lot to learn about televised behaviour! Scowling, stubbornness, drunkenness, vomiting, blegh!" Henna rants. I'm gonna go ahead and guess those first two points were for me and the last two were for Haymitch. James, as usual, was the perfect model for presentation. His mother made sure of it, thank god. At least one of us looks presentable.

"Henna, Haymitch is drunk every year," James says, chuckling. His dad may care about what impact it has on District 12, but James doesn't share that same concern.

"Every day," I can't help but add in a laughing tone.

"Yes," Henna hisses, "How odd you two find this oddly hilarious when your survival in the arena counts on him, the everyday drunkard," she continues. James stops laughing and looks a little stressed, as if just realising something.

"How?" I ask, feeling confused. It's not like Haymitch was going to be there with us, telling us our every move and guiding us. Besides, we have a few days of training, don't we? We can get our survival training there, plus James and I had our bending. We'll be fine!

"Haymitch advises you, lines up your sponsors, dictates the presentation of your gifts!" Henna explodes. Just as she finishes, Haymitch stumbles into the compartment.

"Is supper up yet?" he slurs. Then he vomits all over the expensive carpet and then falls over in it. I groan, scrunching up my nose, and Henna looks smug.

"So laugh away!" She declares dramatically. She heads out of the compartment, after carefully stepping around Haymitch and his puddle of vomit. James and I stare after her, then at Haymitch, who is trying to get up from his vomit. The smell hits my nose and I pull my shirt up to my nose.

"I s'pose we better clean him up," I tell James. He glances at me and grabs one of his arms. I hurry over and grab the other and we haul him up. He's surprisingly heavy for such a small man.

"I fell?" Haymitch slurs, looking around. He rubs his face with his hands, smearing his face with vomit. I look away from him before I get sick too and I know James is doing the same. The mixture of vomit and raw alcohol hits my nose and I try not to cough.

"Smells bad. What did you two do?" Haymitch asks. James and I quickly glanced at each other, seeing Haymitch as more than the District's drunkard. For the next few days, he was going to essentially dictate whether we survive in the arena or not. James and I make and silent agreement and head towards Haymitch.

"Let's go get you cleaned up," I tell him. I nod to James and together we half lead, half drag him to his room. We get in there and I glance at James, wondering where to dump him. We can't dump him onto the fancy bed since he'll only ruin them. Just as I go to say this, James speaks up.

"Let's take him to the bathroom," James tells me. I throw him a thankful smile and we lead him into his bathroom and dump him into the tub and turn the water on.

"I'll do this, you go clean up the mess in the compartment. Grab me some clothes for him, will you?" James says, clearly in charge. I nod and do as he says, chuckling him a shirt and trousers before going back to the compartment.

There are already Capitol servants cleaning it up. I drop to my knees and help them.

"Miss, you don't have to," one says. I frown but get back up.

"Are you sure?" I ask, still frowning.

"Yes, miss. Mr Haymitch does this every year, not to worry," the same servant says. I glance at him skeptically but nod.

"Thank you then." I tell them, then hurry to my room. These Capitol people were weird, actually _wanting_ to clean vomit. It may be their job and all, but that doesn't mean that I enjoy working the mines.

When I get back to my room, I go to the dressing room and strip out of my mother's clothes and put on a slippery, lightweight top and a pair of cotton shorts. I go to leave the room, but Tenille's mockingjay pin shines in the light, reminding me about it. I unpin it from the shirt and pin it on mine. I stroke it once then go into the bedroom and climb up onto the huge bed. I stare out at the open window and, in the distance, I can see the distant lights of another district, maybe Seven or Ten, I don't really know. I never really paid attention to geography in school. I stare out at the lights, wondering what those people would be doing. Discussing the reapings? Finishing supper? I imagine my family. They would most probably be huddled in the living room, the television turned off a while ago, just staying close to one another. I don't doubt they haven't eaten much dinner. I suddenly feel immensely guilty after eating that huge supper only a few hours ago.

Pan will undoubtfully sleep with mama and papa tonight and the twins will be in our bed, as usual. I slip under the covers, feeling all the free room. It seems too open, too soft, I don't like it. I feel half sunken in and it's too free. I would rather my squished, hard, lumpy bed at home than this. Imagining my home makes me feel unbelievably sad and lonely. I know there is little hope I will win, despite my bending. I am only a little Twelve, with no weaponry or survival skills. I know this morning will be the last time I will ever see my family again. That thought makes me burst into tears. I grab a pillow and bury my face into it, trying muffle the sounds. Was it only this morning James and I were in the woods? Was it only this morning we raced with Tenille, Harry and Frank? It feels like a lifetime ago.

It takes me half an hour to calm down. I slowly relax my tight grip on the pillow and try to fall asleep. I know I should sleep, but it seems near impossible. The bed is _too_ soft, it feels uncomfortable and makes me feel vulnerable. After an hour of tossing and turning, I finally give up on trying to sleep in the bed and toss my pillow and blanket on the floor and follow it. About ten minutes later I fall into a deep sleep.

I wake in the morning with light shining in my eyes. I glance around in confusion, looking for signs of Keiley, Kayden, Pan, mama and papa, until I remember the events of the day before. It is a sobering thought. I sit up just as there is a rapping on my door.

"Up, up, up!" Henna comes in, yelling cheerfully. She seems to have forgotten that she was mad at me yesterday, "It's going to be a big, big, big day!" she continues as she comes into view. I can only just see her face and she looks around, confused.

"Callie?" She asks, peering around. I sigh and get up and pick up my pillow and blanket and dump them on my bed.

"Morning, Henna!" I say, not grumpily, but not cheerfully either.

"What on earth were you doing on the floor?" Henna asks, raising her eyebrow at me delicately.

"The bed as too soft," I tell her as I walk out of the room. As I walk, I try to imagine what could possibly be going through Henna's mind. How does she get through this, meeting kids every year, knowing that they'll die? What dreams come to her at night? I have no idea, nor will I ever.

I quickly glance over my appearance as I see a mirror in the hallway, which is much grander than our old mirror at home. My clothes are rumpled from sleeping in them, but they look fine. I tug on them a bit, trying to stretch the wrinkles a bit. My ponytail has come loose, so I stop and fix it, flicking my body forward to gather my hair on top of my head and put it in a neater ponytail. I can't be bothered to even attempt brushing it right now. I can tell that all it's going be is a tangle of knots and curls. I don't really care. I know we can't be far from the Capitol anyway. It'll be in for an hour, two at most, then my stylist will take it out and do who knows what with it. My stylist is who will be dressing me for all the formal occasions, like the interviews that are conducted the day before we go into the arena, and tonight, for the opening ceremony. _Oh god,_ I think to myself, _I hope I get a stylist who doesn't think nudity is the last word in fashion_. There have been years when our tributes have been butt naked, covered in charcoal dust and bared for our whole world to see. I will freeze him over in ice before he gets me to do that.

I finally get to the dining cart. Henna brushes past me with a cup of black coffee. I guess I spent longer in front of that mirror than I realised. Henna is muttering obscenities under her breath. Haymitch, his face red and bleary from last night, is chuckling. James holds a roll in midair and looks embarrassed. I grin at that. James barely gets embarrassed. Annoyed at other's opinions, yes, but embarrassed, no. Haymitch sees me and his face splits into a bigger grin.

"Callie, sit down, sit down!" He says loudly, waving me over. I can't help but glance at James, confused, as I walk over and sit down beside him. The moment I sit I am served with a plate full of bacon, eggs, a cooked red thing and toast. There's a glass of an orange fluid. I pick it up and sniff it to smell a sweet, tangy smell. I cautiously bring it to my lips and take a small sip. The liquid was surprisingly sweet, but had a tang to it that I liked. I down the rest within a minute.

"Slow down there, Callie," James teases. I poke my tongue at him and quickly eat breakfast, scarfing down all the food on my plate and some fruit sitting on ice in the middle of the table. I can hear James and Haymitch laughing, but I ignore them as I eat until my stomach feels like it's going to spilt.

"Damn Callie, you didn't even get to drink the hot chocolate!" James laughs. I feel my eyebrows rise at that. How do you drink hot chocolate? James smirks at me and points to the mug in front of me. I pick it up and take a sip, but it doesn't appeal to me as much as the orange coloured juice did. I screw up my face in distaste and give the mug over to James, where an empty mug sits in front of him. He looks at me in disbelief.

"You don't like it?" He demands.

"I like the orange stuff better," I shrug. James rolls his eyes and I look over to Haymitch. He's knocking down some red liquid that looks disgusting. He wasn't paying attention, he was too busy thinning his red stuff with the white liqueur. I watch him and realise, at the rate he's going, he'll be under the liqueur's spell by the time we reach the Capitol.

Also, as I watch him, I realise that I detest Haymitch, or at least, Haymitch's drinking habits. No wonder our tributes always die. It isn't just because we don't have any training or are underfed. We've had a few over the years that had the potential to make a go at it. It's just we hardly get any sponsors, since Haymitch isn't a charismatic as he could be. The main reason behind that is the alcohol. If Haymitch could go ten minutes without it, we may have a chance. May. I clear my throat and the boys look at me.

"So, you're supposed to give us advice," I start.

"Here's some advice, stay alive," Haymitch says, then bursts out laughing. James and I exchange an irritated look and I see fire blazing in James's eyes.

"That's hilarious, Haymitch," James snarls. He lashes out for Haymitch's glass and knocks it out of his hand. It shatters on the floor, the liquid inside going everywhere.

"Only not to us," I finish, glaring at Haymitch. Haymitch sits back and considers this for a moment, then lashes out and punches James hard in the jaw. He turns back and reaches for the spirits, but I drive my knife in-between him and the bottle and grab it for myself. I look down at the knife in shock. It had barely missed his hand. I prepare to deflect the punch that's obviously coming my way, but it never comes. Haymitch sits back down and relaxes, staring between James and me.

"I actually have a pair of fighters this year?" he asks, cocking en eyebrow. James gets up and reaches for the ice, but Haymitch stops him.

"Let it show. The audience and better yet, sponsors, will think that you got into a fight with another tribute before you got in the arena," Haymitch commands.

"But it's against the rules," I protest. As mothering as I sound, I don't want the other tributes ganging up on James just because of a stupid bruise that he got from his mentor.

"Only if they catch you," James replies, sitting down.

"It's true. That bruise will say you fought and that you didn't get caught. Gives you a fighter's edge," Haymitch tells James approvingly. He turns to me and I gulp.

"Can you hit anything with that knife?" Haymitch asks. I frown and yank it out of the table and look for something to aim at. I see a wooden panel and aim for it. It my surprise, it lands exactly where I pictured it. Huh, I guess all the bets had paid off.

"Stand up, both of you," Haymitch commands. I go stand where Haymitch inclined and James joins me. Haymitch comes over and inspects us, prodding us, poking us, examining us.

"Well, you aren't entirely hopeless. Seem fit, I guess. You'll both be fairly attractive once the stylists are through with you," Haymitch says. I purse my lips at this, but let it slide. We know the best looking and most popular tribute pull more sponsors.

"All right, I'll make a deal with you," Haymitch finally sighs, "If you two don't interfere with my drinking, I'll stay sober enough to help you. Agreed?" He asks. James and I nod.

"You have to do everything I say, even if it seems unimportant or stupid, okay?" he continues. We both nod again. This isn't much of a deal, but it's better than what we had ten minutes ago.

"Agreed," I say.

"So help us," James starts, "When we get into the arena, what's the best strategy at the Cornucopia for someone-" James begins. I can't help but roll my eyes at him. He always goes into everything head first.

"One thing at a time. In a few minutes, we'll be pulling up into the station. I want you guys to act like you were yesterday at the reaping. Maybe I'll pull a tragic spin on you two or something- never mind that for now. When we get there, you'll be handed off to your stylists. You let them do whatever they want to you. You may not like it, but you have to. Don't resist, no matter what. It'll only make it harder for you," Haymitch says. I don't like it, but I nod.

"Callie, go change into some clothes." Haymitch tells me. What? I look fine as I am!

"But-" I begin,

"No buts. Don't resist," Haymitch tells me, then takes his bottle of spirits and disappears from the compartment.

"I didn't realise you were a stylist, Haymitch. My bad," I mutter sarcastically after him, but realise he's right. I have to make myself look more presentable. It was one of the only ways that I could get sponsors. James snorts and I grin at him over my shoulder as I head for my compartment. I quickly dress, casual yet formal, in my mother's white shirt and a pair of trousers, although I leave the shirt untucked. I pin Tenille's pin onto my left breast. I decide to leave my hair. It looks good enough. I head back to James in the dining cart. I spot a jug of the orange liquid and as soon as I sit and pour myself some, the cart goes dark. There are still lights inside the cart, but outside its pitch black, like the night.

"Relax, it's just the tunnels." James tells me, sitting down beside me. Of course it's the tunnels! How could I have been so stupid? The tunnels are, obviously, tunnels that are carved through the mountains that separate the Capitol from the districts- a natural geographical protection. That mountain was one of the reasons we districts lost the war. The rebels had to scale the mountain, making them easy pickings for the Capitol's air force. I mean yeah, we had benders, like airbenders and earthbenders, but the aircraft were impenetrable. They were made of a substance that was neither earth nor metal, a substance with literally no earth particles. I look down at myself and realised I've instantly stiffened, but at James's reassurance, I relax and take a deep sip of the orange liquid.

"It's orange juice, by the way. My mother bought me some for sixteenth birthday." James tells me. I glare at him.

"You didn't think to share?" I demand, although I'm only teasing.

"I didn't think you'd like it, well at least, not that much," he said, nodding to my half empty glass. I bring the cup to my lips and down the rest of it, winking at James. He just rolls his eyes at me and pours a glass for himself. I tilt my now empty glass towards him and he tops it up.

"You know that much juice can be bad for you," James states.

"Well, if you know that, how come you're enforcing it?" I shot back.

"I'm enforcing it?" he replied, head cocked.

"Yeah, you didn't have to pour it. You could have simply refused." I tell him with a smirk.

"You would have poured it anyway," James remarks. I go to reply but the train suddenly slows and the train is immersed in bright light. James and I immediately go to the window, staring out at the Capitol. We've only ever seen it on TV, as travel between districts, unless for the Games, is illegal and you will be executed if caught doing it. No ifs, no buts.

The buildings tower over us, made of glass which reflects rainbows in the sun. The streets are neat, clean. There are no starving people lying about, no corpses, no people begging for food or money. There is no grime anyway, the pavement almost sparkles with its cleanliness. Shiny cars drive down the road, people dressed in weird outfits and hairstyles walk down the street. Here I was, thinking Henna was strange. She was normal compared to these people. All the colours see too fake, unreal; the pinks too bright, the greens too fluorescent, the whites too pure. They remind me of the hard candy that they sell in the tiny candy store in District 12.

The weird people on the streets have begun to wave excitedly at us, jumping up and down and pointing as they recognise a tribute train rolling through the city. I hide my disgust by drinking my juice, looking on at the oddity of the Capitol. James on the other hand, throws a bright smile on his face and waves back enthusiastically. I roll my eyes at him and slowly drain my cup, occasionally stopping and lowering my cup to look out again. The train enters the station and James steps away from the window and relaxes, his face going back to normal, the bright, ecstatic expression gone. Good, I like him better this way, rather than the overexcitedly maniac he was acting like. He sees me staring and winks.

"Who knows Callie," he says, moving to put his cup on the table, "One of them may be rich," James continues. I finish the last mouthful and move to put my cup on the table. Why didn't I think of that?

"Time to go," James says, reaching for my hand. I take it once more, partly because of what Haymitch told us to do, but mostly because I wanted to. I wasn't going to face an entire new world without James there right beside me. It's bittersweet, this, James being the one who is by my side in the few days of my life.

I just hope I can get through them.


	3. The Opening Ceremony

**I AM SO SORRY! I know it's been months, but so much has happened! I was supposed to move house, but that got delayed two weeks so I had no laptop or anything, then when we ****_finally_**** moved we had no internet, so I haven't been able to update (plus we've been in assignment season for the past freaking month or two)! I'm sorry if it doesn't meet expectations, but hopefully its okay! Good news though! I should be able to get the next chapter up in the next two weeks or so if I don't get yet another assignment... I'm about a quarter-way through the next chapter! Sorry for the little rant, but for the few of you that have actually been following this, SO SORRY!**

* * *

Makeovers suck.

Rrrip! I grit my teeth together as my stylists tear my leg hair, arm hair, body hair- any hair really except my hair on my scalp and my eyebrows (even then they rip some out) from my very skin. Rrrrip! Rrrrrip! I dig my nails into my palms and try not to swear at them, keeping in mind what Haymitch said. No resistance. I was kind of regretting going along with that decision, considering the annoying sting coursing through at least 90% of my body.

One of the members of my prep team, Venia, winces as she yanks the fabric covering the warm, sticky liquid that assists in tearing my hair out of my body. She looks odd, like everybody else in the Capitol. She has gold tattoos for eyebrows and bright, aqua hair.

"Sorry!" She squeakily apologises in her chirpy Capitol accent, "You're just so hairy!"

"Keeps me warm," I reply with a strained smile, trying to joke about it. I remember once in school they gave us a lesson on why mammals (that's apparently what they call us warm blooded beings- which I don't understand, since birds are warm-blooded yet they are classified as just 'birds') have hair on our bodies. I had only paid attention for the first five minutes, which happened to include that fact that mammals had body hair to keep themselves warm.

Venia makes what's supposed to be a sympathetic face, although all she succeeds in doing is grimacing.

"This is the last one though, isn't that good news?" Venia asks. I nod and prepare for the brief moment of pain then the annoying stinging. Venia smears the warm liquid over the last remaining patch of hair and quickly slaps the white fabric on top, then pats it down.

"Ready?" She asks. Before I can even nod or reply, the swathe of my leg hair is uprooted with a painful jerk. Damn! I've been here, in the Remake Centre, for almost three hours now, and I still haven't met my stylist. Apparently I'm not good enough for my stylist until certain... issues are resolved, e.g., my body hair. Another thing that took an hour to resolve, is the coal embedded into my skin, especially in my joints. The rest of the time has gone to ridding my body of 'unwanted' hair. I don't like all my hair being removed, I feel like a plucked bird, vulnerable and stupid. If not for Haymitch, I would have got up and legged it a long time ago.

"Thank God you aren't a whiner. We absolutely can't stand whiners!" Flavius, the only male in my prep team says, emphasizing the word stand in his preposterous Capitol accent. It makes him sound utterly ridiculous, but I know Tenille would love this. My playful thoughts sober at this thought. He tosses his orange corkscrew curls from his eyes and applies another coat of his purple lipstick- I know, it looks as ridiculous as it sounds- and looks around.

"Grease her down!" He calls out. Venia and Octavia, the final member of my trio of prep team members, approach me with a bottle of lotion and proceed to rub me down. Immediately all the stinging and tingling vanishes from my skin. After the 'greasing down', I am pulled into the middle of the room, completely naked. The three prep team members circle around me like hawks, tweezers at the ready, plucking any unfortunate hair that still remains. I'm not as embarrassed as I should be, these three people don't actually feel like humans to me. They act too strangely and look too odd to be actual human beings. Venia hands me my robe once they are done and I quickly put it on. I turn to the three and force a grateful smile onto my face.

"Wonderful! You almost look like an actual human being now!" Flavius croons. Ah, the irony. I try not to scowl or scrunch up my face as Venia and Octavia laugh along with him.

"Thank you all you're done. There's nothing like this in District 12," I tell them with a small smile.

"Oh, of course there isn't, sweetie," Octavia says, clasping her hands to her breast to show her distress for me.

"Don't you worry darling, you are going to be absolutely stunning when Cinna is through with you. Stunning!" Venia exclaims excitedly.

"Absolutely! You know, you are quite pretty without all that grease and grime and all that icky hair! Shall we call Cinna?" Flavius asks and the two girls squeal in excitement. I nod along, smiling at the girls. They were like little children, getting excited over the most trivial things. Before I can actually say anything, the three hurry out of the room, their voices loud as they chatter excitedly. It's hard to hate them; they're just total idiots. In a weird way, I know they are sincerely trying to help me. It's complicated, but I guess my maternal instincts are just kicking in.

I look around the white room and realise that I am cold. I pull my robe closer to me and tuck my knees up to my chest. Then my hands go up to my hair. It had been washed and trimmed, so it was a good two inches shorter. I fingered it, not liking the difference. I prefer my hair to be longer, that's why I've been refusing to let my mother cut it. But like Haymitch said- no resisting.

The door opens and a young man, maybe about twenty-five, who I assume is Cinna, walks in. Whoa! He looks normal! Hallelujah! All the stylists I've seen interviewed on stage are way worse than Flavius and Octavia and Venia in the looks department. They've had multiple alterations to their appearance, whether it be dyed, stencilled or even surgical, until they look like freaks rather than people. But Cinna's close-cropped hair looks to be his natural hair colour, a shade of dark brown not that different to mine. He's dressed normally, in a black shirt and trousers. The only alteration of any kind is the metallic gold eyeliner he wears, but it's not even heavily applied. Despite my distaste for these Capitol people and their stupid fashions, I can't help but think how attractive Cinna's look is.

"Hello," I say cautiously, wondering if he wants me to take off my robe.

"Stand up please," he requests. I stand up and take off my robe, blushing. I've never been naked around somebody other than my family.

"Just give me a moment, all right? I just need to think," he says. He circles around my body, much like Haymitch did only this morning, but he doesn't touch me. He just takes in everything with his eyes. I barely resist the urge to run for the robe and cover myself up.

"They cut your hair?" he asks.

"Yeah, Flavius got frustrated with it. Started saying something about split ends," I reply, shrugging.

"You're a new stylist, aren't you? I don't think I've seen you before," I say. Especially somebody so normal and un-Capitol like. Most of the stylists are familiar, as they stay when the tributes are ever-changing. There are some that have literally been around my entire life.

"Yes, this is my first year in the Games, yes," Cinna says absently as he takes another round of my body.

"So they gave you District 12," I conclude. Normally newcomers go straight to us, as the least desirable district, and work their way up. I mean, how many different ways can you depict coal?

"I asked for District 12," Cinna corrects, shocking me. He walks around to face me and smiles. "Why don't you put on your robe and we'll have a little chat," he continues. I jump at the chance and cover myself and then sheepishly look at Cinna. He just smiles and leads me into a sitting room. There are two red loveseats facing each other. Three of the walls are black, the other is a wall entirely made of glass, looking out at the city. It looks to be about noon, but I can't see the sun to tell exactly. The sky that was sunny when I entered the Remake Centre was now overcast.

Cinna sits down and I sit across from him. He presses a button on the side of the table. I watch in fascination as the stop splits and another tabletop appears with food on it. Chicken with chunks of orange cooked in creamy sauce laid on a bed of pearly white grain with tiny green peas and onions, fancy rolls shaped like flowers and for desert, a honey-brown pudding.

I try to imagine how I would possibly get this meal at home. No way could I afford a chicken, I'd probably have to trade something valuable for a chicken, or even a wild turkey. I could probably find something to trade for the orange, or I could wait until the fall and trade a bunch of apples for one. Tenille could get me some goat's milk as her family has a goat. We already grow peas in our garden. I can't even begin to think of how I would get the grain and the rolls. I have never seen grain like that in my life. The grain we get from our tesserae cooks into a messy brown mush. The rolls would take weeks of gathering to even get one. I'm not even going to attempt to discover that the hell was in that pudding. Weeks of gathering and trading couldn't even make a decent version of this Capitol one.

I wonder what it must be like to live in a world where food appears at the press of a button. How would I spend all the hours I do on gathering food and medicines if it were so easy to come by? What the hell do these Capitol people do all day, other than decorating their bodies and waiting for the next shipment or tributes to roll past as their entertainment? That did they do to deserve this lifestyle while people out in the Districts are dying every day?

I look up to see Cinna's sorrowful eyes trained on mine.

"How despicable we must seem to you," he says. I inwardly curse myself. I had dropped my guard! But Cinna was right. They were despicable and undeserving of this treasure.

"Anyways," Cinna sighs, leaning down to rest his elbows on his knees, "So, Callie, about your costume for the Opening Ceremony. Portia- that's James's stylist- and I were think that you have complementary outfits to each other, since you two seem to be quite close friends," Cinna says. So, he spoke to Haymitch, did he?

"Okay," I reply, nodding along with it.

"As you know, it's pretty much compulsory to dress in accordance to the flavour of your District," Cinna continues. Right, the 'flavour' of your district. That essentially means you have to dress in the primary industry of your district. For example, Four is fishing, Eleven is agriculture, Three is factories. So, as James and I come from District 12, we will either be dressed as a) a coal miner or b) coal. Since the baggy coal miner outfits aren't exactly becoming, our tributes are generally dressed in skimpy outfits with headlights for hats. We aren't exactly an appealing District for the crowd. I take a deep breath and prepare myself for the worst.

"So, we'll be in matching coal miner outfits?" I ask, hoping that I wasn't going to go stark naked covered in charcoal dust like a pair of tributes had a few years ago.

"Not exactly. You see, Portia and I think that the coal miner thing is way overdone. No one will remember you in that. Portia and I both agree that it is our job to make sure that District 12 tributes are unforgettable, and that's what we plan to do," Cinna says.

Oh hell, I'm going naked!

"So rather than focus on the coal mining itself, we're going to be focusing more on the coal," Cinna continues.

Butt naked and covered in charcoal… wonderful. I confirm, dread filling me.

"And what to do we do with fire, Callie?" Cinna asks.

"We burn it?" I ask, cocking my head like a dog.

"Tell me something, Callie. Are you afraid of fire?" I gulp and Cinna grins at my expression.

...

A few hours later I am dressed in what will either be the most dangerous or most amazing costume in the history of all Opening Ceremonies- no- in all events throughout however many years humans have graced this earth. I'm in a simple black unitard that covers me from ankle to neck but somehow makes me look graceful and pretty and all that. Shiny leather boots lace up to above my knees. None of that matters. The most defining thing of this costume is my fiery cape. It has streams of red, orange and yellow running down it. It matches the head-piece that I am wearing.

And Cinna plans to set them on fire.

"It's not a real flame, of course- just a little synthetic flame that Portia and I came up with. It won't burn you, you'll be safe," Cinna had told me, but I'm not convinced. I just hope that James can get the cape off of me before I get burnt. I could be burnt to the bone and they'd still put me in the Games.

My face has practically no makeup, just a gloss on my lips and a bit of highlighting. My hair has been brushed out and is back in its ponytail, my curls twisted slightly so they are not as puffy as they usually are. We don't want the risk of my hair catching on fire.

"I want the audience to recognise you when you're in the arena," Cinna had told me when he'd done my hair up, "Callie, the girl who was on fire," Cinna had said dreamily. I guess this was every stylist's dream, for their tribute to be forever known in the Opening Ceremony.

Then it crosses my mind that Cinna's normal and calm manner is just a cover for his madness.

I'm totally relieved when James show up. I hurry over to him and grin, then I circle him, taking everything in. He looks good in black, I must admit. His outfit was the same as mine, but his boots only went up to the bottom of his knees and they didn't have the heels in them like mine did and he wasn't wearing makeup. I grin at him and he rolls his eyes and pushes me.

"Oh, is that how it is, huh?" I ask playfully, pushing him back. Then we scuffle like boys and Cinna eyes us oddly. He's not the only one.

"Come, children," Portia says, smiling. James and I are whisked off down to the bottom level of the Remake Centre, where we launch from. The bottom level is essentially a stable, it has to be, since they use horses to cart us around in chariots. Our horses are coal black, of course. The animals are so well trained, nobody needs to guide them. Cinna and Portia direct us to the chariot and carefully arrange out body positions so the audience will get the full effect. They pay special attention to the drape of the cape.

"So, what do you think about the fire?" James asks me with a grin as Cinna and Portia move away to consult with one another.

"I'll rip off your cape if you rip off mine," I tell him through gritted teeth.

"Ha, I told Portia you wouldn't like it!" James laughs. I give him a sour look.

"I know we promised Haymitch we'd do exactly what they said. But I don't think he considered this angle," I tell him.

"Callie, I am a Firebender. I think I can handle a little bit of fire," James reminds me. Rriigghhtt… I completely forgot about that.

"Where is Haymitch, anyway? I thought he was supposed to protect us from this sort of thing," I grumble.

"With all that alcohol in him, I don't think it's advisable for him be around an open flame," James retorts with a grin. Suddenly, we're having another laughing fit and other tributes are looking at us oddly as we laugh hysterically. I grab onto James's arm to keep myself upright as I laugh away my worries.

We abruptly stop laughing when the opening song begins. It's impossible to miss. They blast it through the entire Capitol so everybody can hear it.

I look ahead as the tributes from One head out. They look almost as bad as the Capitol people. They are spray painted with reflective silver paint, giving off the illusion that they are actually made of silver. They are also wearing tunics and leggings of the same colour, but have little jewels sewn into them. The crowd goes wild as they appear. I knew they would be a favourite. They always are, every year. District One makes luxury items for the Capitol, so therefore they can afford to dress and look luxurious as they do now.

Chariot by chariot the line shortens until it's our turn. I watch as District 11, the little twelve year old girl and the huge boy, leave. Then I turn to the overcast sky. I smirk at it, thanking it slightly. It makes the day seem gloomy, as if it were sad to see such a thing. Cinna appears the a lighted torch and I jump.

"Here we go then," Cinna mutters. Before I can cringe away he has my headdress and cape alight. I tense, ready to yell as I felt the flame's heat, but there is only a little faint tickling sensation, as if the flames were teasing me for my foolishness. I rolled my eyes but grinned at Cinna.

"It works!" He sighs in relief as he lights James's costume. I glare at Cinna and he chuckles and reaches for my chin and pulls it up so my head is high.

"Remember kids, heads high, bright smiles. They're going to love you two!" Cinna exclaims excitedly. He jumps down and goes to say something else, but the music drowns him out. I turn to James and gasp. He looks really handsome like this, wearing flames. It's not just the flames, but the confidence he wears with them. Then again, what could I expect, coming from a Firebender? The chariot starts to move and I lose my balance at the unexpected movement, so James lashes out and wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me upright. That's how we emerge. James awkwardly drops his arm from my waist and I grin at him.

"District Twelve!" there are hundreds of people shouting for our district. At first I'm frozen, shocked at the many voices calling for my district. Then I see why. I catch a glance of us in a huge television screen and gasp. We look absolutely stunning. With the headdresses and capes, we actually do look like we are on fire. Our faces are illuminated by the fire against the twilight surrounding us. Cinna was totally right when it came to the makeup department. Despite the small polishing, we look 100% us. Everybody will recognise our faces, even in the years to come.

Remember kids, heads high, bright smiles. They're going to love you two! I hear Cinna's excited voice in my head. Right. I lift my chin a little higher and put on my most extraordinary smile and began waving. I feel a hand snake around mine and I turn to James and he winks at me. I gently butt him with my shoulder. I don't do much. I haven't been able to push James even a little bit since I was seven- at least- with my bare hands. He gives me a mock glare and I poke my tongue at him in reply. The crowd is going nuts over our exchange.

"James! Callie!" They scream. Huh, looks like they found our names in the programme. Flowers rain down around us. I feel myself gain confidence and, at the risk of James teasing the crap out of me afterwards, I blow a few kisses at the crowd. I can feel the loud music, the cheers and the admiration of the crowd pounding down on me. Cinna has given us a huge advantage. We will never be forgotten, not our looks, not our names. Callie, the girl who was on fire.

I can feel hope rising up inside me. Surely now there must be a sponsor or two willing to take one of us on! Why should we count ourselves out of the Games? We're both benders, trained ones at that. One of us could actually make it home!

I see a red rose flying towards me. I catch it and blow a kiss back at whoever threw it. Hundreds of hands reach up to grab my kiss, like it's a real thing. I try not to roll my eyes as I keep waving and smiling and kissing.

About fifteen minutes in I glanced down at my hands and saw their white-knuckled grip. I try not wince and loosen my grip a bit, but James keeps his grip on my hand.

"No, don't let go of me," James pleads as soon as I loosen my grip, "You'll fall off," James says, grinning at me. I playfully glare at him for a second and he holds his other hand up, pausing briefly when his hand was at his shoulder before extending it to wave. Discreet surrender. I giggle as I blew somebody a kiss. Damn these people seemed to live for them! I kept my hand wrapped around his but didn't go back to the white-knuckled grip. I mentally thanked Cinna and Haymitch for presenting us a team. I don't think that I could do this with anybody else or totally ignore James, even if it were just in public.

Eventually we all enter the City Circle- the final leg of our journey. All up, the Opening Ceremony is a twenty minute chariot ride throughout the best parts of the Capitol, ending at President Snow's mansion, where he officially welcomes us to the Capitol and therefore, the Hunger Games.

I look at all the faces in the windows. These were the most important people here, these people excitedly staring at us through the glass panes. To me, they don't look any different. Just a bunch of weird looking people.

The horses, the well trained beauties they are, halt in front of the mansion. A second later the music ends in a dramatic flourish that makes me want to extravagantly bow to the audience. I wonder what they would do if I did. That thought keeps me entertained as President Snow walks out onto his balcony.

President Snow is a little pale man with hair- get this- as white as snow. As the President talks, the cameras take shots of us tributes. They do every year. But this year they are paying a whole lot of attention to us little Twelves. The darker it becomes, the more the cameras dart to us, like moth to a flame. They finally play the national anthem and the cameras pay tribute to all the other districts, but the cameras focus on us as we round the City Circle once more and then go to the Training Centre, which will be our home for the next week.

We've barely stopped when the prep teams horde us, babbling praise. To me they sound like babies first learning to talk. James nudges me and pointedly looks around us. The other tributes were giving us downright dirty looks. I can't help but smirk as I look into the furious eyes of the female tribute of District One. James nudges me again and laughs.

"You're asking for it. If you keep it up, I bet she comes straight for you the second the horn sounds in the arena," James tells me, grinning. Cinna and Portia come towards us and carefully take off our headdresses and capes and Portia sprays them with some kind of special spray that instantly extinguishes them.

James hops out of the chariot and turns to help me out. I roll my eyes at him and purposely go the other way, massaging my hand. I didn't realise exactly how tight I'd been holding his hand, plus with Tenille yesterday. It was definitely going to bruise now. I scowl down at it.

"Are you alright?" James asks, glancing down at my hand.

"I'll be fine, it's nothing," I tell him.

"Thanks for holding me up. I swear I was shaking like a leaf," James told me. I think back to the times I'd peaked at us on the televisions.

"It didn't show," I say uncertainly, still running the peaks through my head, "If you were, which I highly doubt, I'm pretty sure nobody noticed," I conclude with a smile.

"I'm sure they didn't notice anything other than you," James says, a smile playing on his lips, "you should wear flames more often, water girl," he says, butting my shoulders with his.

"So should you, fire boy. They actually suit you," I say it jokingly, but I'm serious. I wasn't kidding when I said that James looked handsome wearing flames.

"Right back at 'cha," James says in a funny accent, making me giggle. I see a few heads turn towards us but I ignore them.

"C'mon, let's go find Henna and Haymitch, now that we're de-flamed." I say, grabbing James's hand and leading him through the crowd. We eventually find them and Henna embraces us with a hug.

"Bravo, bravo!" Henna exclaims. She pulls back and claps her hand excitedly. I give her an uncomfortable smile and that's all she needs. She walks towards a big glass elevator and ushers us in, Haymitch close behind her.

Even though I go down the elevator shaft almost every day, I am still petrified of them. This one scares me more than our elevator in the mines. Our elevator is dark and creaky and moves incredibly slow and smells of curdled milk and coal dust and unwashed bodies. This elevator has a faint perfumed smell and is made of clear, crystal glass and makes you feel that you are going to fall straight from the bottom. I grip James's hand tightly as Henna presses a button and we shoot up. The fear exits my body and excitement replaces it as I watch us silently whizz up to the top floor.

As we are from district 12, we get floor 12- the penthouse. It's kind of awesome, how the poorest district gets the best room while district 1 get the second floor. Not only do we get the biggest room. I'm not really sure if there is roof access, but if anybody should have it, it would be us.

When we stop, I turn to Henna and prepare to say goodbye to her, but she steps off the elevator and steps into the room as if she has done it a hundred times before. I guess her duties to us do not end here. James's hand squeezes mine as he gently pulls me out of the elevator. I let him as I think about Henna's presence. I guess it is a good thing, since we can't trust Haymitch to keep us on time for everything. So far Henna has been okay at helping us out, but I doubt she would let us miss anything. I must have zoned out because James squeezed my hand and subtly nodded towards Henna. She was ranting and raving, going on and on and on and on about the Opening Ceremony. Apparently Henna's never had a pair of tributes that have made such and impression. She doesn't miss a thing, going on about our costumes and, surprisingly, our attitudes and the way we conducted ourselves, which is a fair cry from yesterdays rant.

I almost tune her out until Henna mentions her connections. Apparently Henna knows essentially every important person in the Capitol, talking us up and trying to win us sponsors.

"I've had to be very mysterious, though," Henna says, her eyes showing a small devious gleam I didn't even know she had, "since I'm not really allowed to butter sponsors up, but heaven knows all the other guides do it. I haven't had much to work with, though, Haymitch hasn't told me anything about your strategies," Henna pouts.

"So what have you been saying?" I ask curiously.

"How close you two are, about the unfortunate luck you two have, being best friends reaped together, only one surviving. How you've both survived the barbarism of your district..." she went on while I seethed. Barbarism? Is she serious? Coming from her? The woman who is helping prepare us for slaughter? Besides, what is she basing this on? Our table manners? Puh-leese.

"Of course, many don't have much faith in you, being from the coal district and such. So you know what I said? It was quite clever, really, so I said 'Well, if you put too much pressure on coals, they turn into pearls!' " Henna says, beaming so brightly I don't have it in me to correct her, although she is very wrong.

Pearls grow from shellfish. I suppose she could have meant that diamonds come from coal, but that isn't necessarily true either. Somebody in the Hub once told me that they have this machine thing that can turn graphite into diamonds. Too bad nobody mines graphite no more. That was Distrit 13's job until the Capitol destroyed them.

I wonder if these people she's been chatting us up to know or care.

"Too bad I can't seal sponsor deals for you. Only Haymitch can do that, I'm afraid." Henna says grimly, "Don't worry, I'll get him to the table at gunpoint if I have to," Henna says fiercely. I grin at the thought. I can totally imagine it.

When Henna finishes, she shows us our quarters. Again, they are bigger than my entire house back home. Like the train cart, everything is luxurious and plush, therefore too soft. There are also so any automatic gadgets that I don't think I'll have enough time to press all the buttons. I mean seriously... how lazy were these Capitol people! The shower alone had over a hundred buttons! There were buttons for temperatures, water pressure, soaps, shampoos, scents, oils, massaging sponges, etc. The moment you step out on the mat, heaters come out and blow dry your body. How stupid is that! It's not as if it's hard to pull out a towel or rag or something to dry off your body. Get this! Instead of struggling with wet, knotty hair, I just press this box thing and it send a current through my hair, untangling, parting and drying my hair instantly. It even straightens my curls out. I turn to look at myself in the mirror. It floats down in a glossy curtain down my back. I can't help but stare at it. It looks so different compared to what I am used to, and I didn't realise how long it was, even though I know it was cut.

I go to the wardrobe and get some clothes for me to wear (automatic again!) and dress in a simple plain grey shirt and black trousers. I can view different parts of the Capitol at my command. All I have to do is press this little remote thing and it goes to where I want it to. Damn, these Capitol people are weird. I stare at the weird concoctions they have come up with until James gently knocks at my door, announcing dinner.

Awesome. I'm freaking hungry.

Henna, Cinna and Portia are standing out on a balcony when we walk out into the dining room. I smile at the stylists when I see them. I'm glad that they are here, especially since a meal governed by just Henna and Haymitch alone is bound to be a disaster. Anyways, dinner isn't really about the food, but the conversation occurring over the food. Here, dinner is about our gameplan, not eating. I'm especially glad Cinna and Portia are here. They have already shown how valuable they are.

We all silently sit, James besides me, and a young man dressed in white tunic offers us a glass of wine each. I think about turning mine down. I know wine is alcoholic, but seeing Haymitch makes me second guess it. I don't want to end up like him. However, curiosity wins over. I've never had it before and besides, when will I get the chance to try it again? I take a sip of the wine and carefully run it through my mouth, savouring the flavour. I like the tart taste so I take another sip.

Haymitch shows up just as dinner is served. He's clean and groomed and, surprisingly, sober. I guess Cinna got to him. He doesn't refuse the offer of wine though. I realise that I have never seen him eat when he grabs his spoon and begins on the soup. I turn to look at James and we both share the same look. Maybe Haymitch will pull himself together to help one of us survive.

Thank heavens that Cinna and Portia are here. They seem to have a civilising affect. Haymitch and Henna are actually acting civil. They both praise Cinna and Portia for our opening act. While they make small talk, I stuff myself. On about the fourth course I finally engage myself in the conversation. Somehow we are still on the Opening Ceremony topic. Our servers, all young people in the white tunics, move wordlessly around us, changing plates, serving courses, topping up wine. I take a sip of wine and notice that it has gotten warm and tastes funny. I take it in two hands and swirl it around, making it cooler. Nobody realises what I am doing but James. He take my glass out my hand and puts his in. I grin at him and swirl his until it is cool and we swap glasses. The others notice our exchange and give us odd looks. I go to explain myself but a girl catches my eye.

"Hey, I know you!" I exclaim. Heads snap to me and I feel myself go red and stare at the girl. She looked to be my age. Her hair was cropped short, in a fiery red mane that fell just past her ear. She gave me an alarmed expression and scurried away.

"Callie! You can't possibly know her! She's an Avox!" Henna exclaimed, clutching her chest as if offended, bring my attention to her patterns on her hands.

"What's an Avox?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. I have heard the term but seriously don't know what it means.

"An Avox is a traitor. You aren't supposed to talk to them, unless you give them a command." James tells me silently. Suddenly it hits me. That day in the woods! I subtly look at her, recalling what had happened. I was eight when I first saw her. I had thought she was definitely older than me then. I felt tears prickle at thought and I quickly blinked and squinted at her and cocked my head at her, as if I was trying to figure something out.

"Then I mustn't know her. Oh well, I guess she just looks familiar..." I trail off pathetically. I was definitely failing at covering my ass.

"Dylan Harris," James says suddenly, snapping his fingers in his discovery, "That's who she looks like!" James declares. I refrain from cheering silently, and from laughing. Dylan Harris was actually a guy, a massive, buff guy that would rival even the male tribute from District 12. James looks at me with a raised eyebrow. Then I remember that this is somebody that I knew and he didn't.

"Well, that's a relief!" Cinna says as they bring out a desert. It looks sort of like milk or cream, although it looks more... solid. There is fruit on top of it and I frown at it. I take a small chunk out of it and bring it to my lips. I discover that its cold and creamy and smooth and has a sweet flavour.

"It's ice cream, by the way," Henna tells me. I nod, thinking that the name makes sense, and turn to James. His face is twisted into pure delight and I laugh at him and he grins sheepishly.

"Let's head watch the opening ceremony, shall we?" Portia, James's stylist, suggests. We all take out ice cream and head to the television, where the opening ceremony is being broadcast. I'm quite proud of James and I. A few other chariots kind of standout, but you cannot deny that James and I are the stars of the show. I listen to our own party's sighs of marvel and I can feel a blush creeping up my cheeks, despite the coolness inside my mouth.

"Who's idea was that?" Haymitch asks, cocking his head at us.

"Who's idea was what?" I ask.

"Your comradeship, with a touch of romance. I love it, just a hint of rebellion and it gives me that edge I need. Golden, just golden," Haymitch says, although I lose him at rebellion.

Rebellion? That was rebellious? Then I think back to the other tributes, in fact, to all the tributes I can remember. None act as we had. They all stood slight away from one another, looking like statues, acting as though they are alone in their chariots. They act as though the Games have already begun. I suddenly see what Haymitch means. Presenting ourselves as close friends, although unintentional, make as much as an impact than the fiery costumes did. The programme ends and Haymitch stands and looks at James and I.

"Your first training session is tomorrow morning. Meet me for breakfast; I'll tell you exactly how you're going to play it. Goodnight," Haymitch commands. I sigh but I know that they will not allow James and I to stay with them as they talk. We bid them goodnight and head to our rooms. We reach mine first, although I'm not exactly allowed in mine. James stands in front of my door with an arched eyebrow.

"So, I never though that Dylan's lookalike would be found in the Capitol. As an Avox," James says, his tone getting harsh. Ouch. I never thought that he would need to know about her, so I never told him. Besides, I was half my age the last time I saw her. I realise my mistake as I stare at my best friend looking down at me, a curious and annoyed look on his face. To tell or not to tell? James must have picked up on my hesitation.

"Has Cinna showed you the roof?" He asks, cocking his head to the side slightly. I shook my head slowly. "It has the most amazing view, although the winds are pretty loud," James says with a wink.

Translation; Nobody will hear you up there. I laugh at him and then look around, suddenly feeling as though I am being watched.

"We can just go up there?"

"Sure. C'mon, Cal," James takes my hand and leads me up some stairs to a roof. We step out a door and the wind gently plays with my hair as I take in the site of the night time Capitol. It is lit up like a swarm of fireflies. I take a moment to wonder what its like, to have electricity all 24 hours of the day. In 12, we only have electricity maybe half an hour a day, maybe less, except for when they play the Hunger Games. They always give us electricity when they broadcast the Games.

James leads me over a side of the building and leans against the rails that surround the roof.

"Aren't they afraid that well just jump off?" I ask, frowning.

"I asked Cinna. He reckons there's a forcefield around the roof. If we try to jump we are thrown back onto the roof." James explains. I lean against him and take a deep breath.

"Callie, how do you know that Avox?" James finally asks me.

"It was before I started letting you come to the woods with me..."

"I thought you never went in there without me!" James growled.

"Yeah well, sorry dude, but I'd been going there months before you started. Anyway, I was in there and I saw the Avox girl running with another boy. You could tell that they were from the Capitol. They were altered like everybody else here, but they definitely looked pampered and they had no idea what they were doing. They were trampling and stumbling around everywhere, making so much noise. I was going to go over to them to growl them, but that's when I saw it. The hovercrafts. It just appeared out of nowhere, legitimately. One minute the sky was clear, the next there was this huge thing in the air. They shot a spear out. It got the guy in the throat. The girl started to scream and tried to get to the the boy, but a cage dropped down and got her. She spent the whole time in the cage banging at it, trying to get to the guy. I didn't go back into the woods until the day you came in with me." I tell James quietly. He looks at me with sadness written all over his face.

"Is that why you were so edgy for months?" James asks.

"Yeah." I whisper.

"Callie, you're shivering," James tells me. I look down at my shelf and see. Huh, I didn't even notice. James wraps his jacket around my shoulders and leans in close to me.

"Where do you think they were going?" James asks me.

"Dunno, but definitely not 12. Maybe they just wanted out of the Capitol. I don't understand why though. They have everything," I reply. They do. They have food, water, shelter, electricity, no struggle for survival. They don't really have a cause to rebel.

"I'd definitely leave here." James whispers to me. I smile at him and start to get up.

"C'mon James, we better get inside. We have our first day of training tomorrow." I sigh. We head back downstairs and James walks me to my room.

"G'night, James,'" I whisper. He nods and gives me a quick hug before heading down the hall to his room.

When I enter my room, I see the red headed Avox picking up my Opening Ceremony costume. I suddenly feel the urge to profusively apologize, for the woods, for dinner, for her tongue, for everything, but I'm not allowed to talk to her. Godammit, stupid rules!

"I am so sorry, I was supposed to give those to Cinna," I tell her, trying to convey with my eyes how sorry I really was, "I am so sorry! Can you go give them to Cinna for me? I'm sorry, really," I tell her. She avoids my eyes and scurries away. I couldn't help but frown after her and then fell onto my bed, suddenly exhausted.

* * *

**Okay sorry, it isn't the best, but I hope you mob liked it! The next chapter is the training sessions, so I hope you like it! I'm sorry if this chapter is too short since I lost Word and therefore my word-count! **

**Anyway, I hope you mob liked it and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review or maybe even favourite or follow? I would love feedback so I know where to improve!**


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